Going Under Ch. 02

"What? How do you know me, know..." Sara let the words trail off.

The woman turned her torch on herself as if on show, slowly running the light over riding boots and burgundy suede jodhpurs to a reddish silk blouse finished off with a hussar's pelisse fastened at her throat and slung over her shoulder. The pale skinned face with a plait of dark, red-tinged hair curled down one side to her neck was familiar. Then, as she calmed, Sara recognised the face of Tatiana. The whole outfit should have told her. The woman looked ready to hunt on the plains of Hungary. Sara felt she should snap with some comment about a fancy dress party, but something stopped her. She looked up at Tatiana and rose to her feet.

"It's nice to see a familiar face." Sara found herself saying warmly.

"Yes, I'm sure it must be. Let me get you a taxi home, you must be tired."

"Yes, thank you, that would be nice."

Tatiana gestured to the brightly lit end of the alley.

"Where's Wladyslaw?"

"Wladyslaw?"

"The man I was with. He might be injured." Sara said turning to look back. Then in the light of one of the torches she saw him sprawled on the floor, a silver shaft seemed to have pierced his temple and his eyes gazed blankly. Sara tried to hurry back to him, but Tatiana's surprisingly firm grip stopped her.

"There's nothing you can do." Tatiana said in a strong though hushed voice. "This is Moscow, it's a dangerous place."

The sound of militia sirens rose from a couple of streets away and through the numbness Sara felt she knew they would soon be on the scene.

"Come on, you don't want to mix with the militia. This is not your battle." Tatiana said forcefully.

Sara gazed back, feeling as if a chunk of herself had been scooped out, not from her heart, something larger, a bigger piece of her that left her feeling so empty. She could see a dark-clad figure who could have been a para-medic bending over Wladyslaw's corpse. Sara was uncertain if that woman was someone official or someone Tatiana knew or both. Tatiana hesitated, clearly listening to what was being said.

"This one was a human." The woman said.

"But he was a Pole, he worked at the same place." A voice responded from a few steps away and Sara saw a man close with the woman.

"Maybe, but he was clearly not one of them."

"Well, you know what to do in that case."

Tatiana called back and the man and woman looked up as if commanded.

"Yes." The woman replied.

The sirens were almost on them.

"Come on. This is no place for you." Tatiana told Sara and pushed her ahead of her right to the end of the alley giving Sara no chance to turn back.

Sara felt feeble, she realised how exhausted she was, how confused everything around her was. At the end of the alley a taxi was sitting with its engine idling. Tatiana manoeuvred the limp Sara into the back seat and told the driver Sara's address. She held the door open for an instant.

"Sara, go home, get some sleep. When you're back to normal, and you soon will be, we must meet. Moscow must be lonely since Cate ran off. We don't see you in 'The Red Bar' any more. You'll have to come up, I'm having a small party there next Saturday. Do come."

"Yes." Sara muttered. Every word seemed to be an effort, but she felt grateful to Tatiana for getting her away from it all. "I'll be there." With that, Tatiana closed the car door and in moments the taxi was taking Sara home.

*

Part Two

Sara awoke with her whole body aching, most notably her head. Her memories of the night before were vague, and she was not certain what had been reality and what had been something she might have dreamt since then. What was clear through it all was encountering Tatiana, dressed in that wonderful outfit. That image stood out clear from what were increasingly dim images. Tatiana had invited her to a party at 'The Red Bar' a week today and Sara saw that as a beacon for herself in the coming week, it gave her a purpose, something she knew she had long been lacking. She knew she had to prepare herself right, look good so that Tatiana would be pleased, she knew she had to find a good velvet dress, she needed her hair done too, she had let it get unruly.

Fired with a burst of enthusiasm Sara sat up in bed, but the way her body felt slowed her down. She glanced over at her clock. It was just passing midday. Her stomach began complaining. What had she eaten last night? She could not remember. She gave herself ninety minutes to be ready to leave the flat. That meant thirty minutes coming back to life in bed followed by a shower and hot coffee and biscuits. She could wear last night's clothes; that would save time. Then she could get to the shops, not Brusilov's but one of those smaller places she had passed with renaissance dresses and amber jewellery hanging in the window. As the first step she grasped the glass of water by her bed and downed it in one, coughing a little, but re-hydrating the sticky mess that was her mouth.

The working week had passed far quicker than any Sara could remember and she was back to Saturday, feeling in a far better shape than the previous week. She now stood before the long mirror admiring herself. She ran her hand over her sleek hair, still pretty long but tidied and shaped, with a couple of slim plaits framing her face. Her skin felt soft too, the batch of bath liquids and essential oils meant she exuded a warm floral scent that seemed to waft away all her concerns. She was no longer dressed in grey either. She loved this velvet dress. It was a dark gold shade, with sleeves widening at her wrist, a bodice that accentuated her lines and a full skirt. She looked the perfect pre-Raphaelite heroine.

Sara hesitated but then reached forward to pick up the cross, the dagger, that Cate had given her. Whilst it had painful memories, she certainly felt numbed to them now, and it was something both tangible and beautiful. She tied it around her neck and let the ornate silver rest on her bodice-enhanced décolletage. Sara picked up the black clutch bag and headed for the door as she heard the hoot of the taxi below.

Sara felt a little hesitant as she stepped from the taxi, but soon lost herself in the crowd going into the bar. She wondered if she would be able to find Tatiana among all the people, but as she came into the main bar area her attention went straight to her and the small group of people around her. Sara made her way through the crowd to the booth where Sara sat.

"What a lovely dress." Tatiana said, standing to blow air kisses either side of Sara's face.

Sara felt pleased that Tatiana liked it, even though she knew it was a poor thing in comparison to the deep crimson one that Tatiana wore. She looked so elegant, so beautiful, with her hair pinned high on her head, as always, contrasting with the pure white of her skin.

Tatiana indicated to Sara to sit beside her and handed her a glass of dark Hungarian wine. Sara sipped, delighting in its flavour.

There were four other people around the table. Two of the women were dressed like Tatiana, in different autumnal shades.

"That is Natalia and that is Sophia." Tatiana indicated the two well-dressed women in turn and they smiled briefly back at Sara.

"Nice to meet you." Sara said, feeling that that was truly the case.

Beside Sophia lounged another woman and next to Natalia, a man. Both were apparently distracted from what was going on around them. Sophia's woman wore a short bright dress that women at a rave might wear, the man had nothing more than a black teeshirt and chinos. Occasionally one of them would reach forward for their glass of wine, but otherwise their eyes seemed to flick between Natalia or Sophia and the bright revolving lights above the bar. Sara thought she should introduce herself, find out who these people were. From somewhere the name Wendy came into her mind, but she could see no connection and let the thought fade. There was no need to know their names, she had Tatiana to talk to. It was good of Tatiana to invite her, Sara was pleased that Tatiana liked Sara's dress. Sara drank more wine, it seemed to be strong stuff, but she was eager for more.

Sara sat patiently, contentedly while Tatiana spoke with her two friends. Whilst Tatiana's words to her had come clearly, there was now no way that she could make out what was being said by any of the three women. Yet, that did not seem to matter, she was happy enough here, rather than sitting bored in her room trying to read some Russian literature or watch a dull programme on her television. This was good, this was fun, she was enjoying herself and she had to thank Tatiana for inviting her.

The evening passed quickly. Sara was uncertain of how much she had drunk She realised that Tatiana had stopped talking with her friends, and Sara glanced over at them. She was pleased to see both Natalia and Sophia kissing passionately with their companions. Something dawned in Sara's dulled mind and she turned to look at Tatiana. Tatiana smiled at her and Sara felt she could not resist, she also felt that she should be closer to Tatiana. Sara shifted in her seat until her body was next to Tatiana's. This felt good, Sara thought and in the next instant Tatiana's lips were on hers, and Sara melted as if transported from the bar into a space where there was just herself and Tatiana, just the smooth, delicious feeling of her lips and tongue.

Sara had no power to break from this and simply enjoyed the sensation. Then she was aware that Tatiana's lips had gone from pressing against her own and in a moment felt abandoned. Yet, she was not neglected for long and in seconds she sensed Tatiana's teeth nipping at the soft flesh of her neck. Each bite made Sara tingle and eager for more. Tatiana's lips spread wider with each nibble and then she bit down and Sara saw a flash of white light. Her body was eager to quiver at the thrill she felt, but Tatiana's grasp held it still. Sara increasingly became drowsy, but it was a happy drowsiness, glad that she could be so useful to her beloved Tatiana. She was pleased that Tatiana continued with her flesh held so lovingly in Tatiana's mouth.

Then it was ended. Sara felt a brief touch of Tatiana's lips back on her own, with a metallic flavour about them. Suddenly she felt very tired. Her vision cleared and she saw that like Tatiana, Natalia and Sophia looked invigorated, wiping their mouths, drinking toasts of the wine, but like herself the man and woman seemed exhausted, drained by the evening in the club. Sara tried to speak to tell Tatiana she was tired, she needed to go, but that felt like betraying Tatiana, she felt obliged to stay to the end. Mustering her strength Sara reached out for her glass. Seeing this Tatiana laughed and picked it up and pressed it to Sara's lips.

"There, there." Tatiana said in a childish voice, as she poured wine into Sara's mouth.

Sara felt the wine revive her. Whilst everything seemed so distant still, she was lively enough to sit up and take the glass herself.

"Thank you." Sara said to Tatiana.

"Yes, yes, of course you're grateful."

"She's a good one, strong." Natalia said.

"Yes..." Tatiana replied, but the rest of her sentence was inaudible to Sara as the three friends began their chatting again.

Sara let herself drift, but kept sipping at the wine feeling it was the only thing keeping her from sliding into a deep sleep. Suddenly she perked up again as she heard an urgent voice.

"It's Maciej." A man's voice said.

Sara turned to see a tall, slim man dressed in a long, midnight blue embroidered jacket with glimpses of a gold waistcoat showing from beneath. He was lean and pale with long, dark hair swept back over his shoulders. Sara loved his look, it so reminded her of her ideal of a Romantic era poet. Behind him, clinging to his arm was a woman in a long sweeping dress. She was as thin and as pale as Sophia's companion.

Sara watched, as at the news Tatiana stood, her back to Sara. Though close to each other, the man's speech was urgent and Sara found she could still make out the conversation.

"I thought we got him last week."

"No, he escaped."

"We took three."

"But one of those was a mortal, don't you remember? You feasted on him later."

"Of course. I'm getting forgetful. So where is he?"

"In The Arbat, near that strip of park."

"Right. Have you called the others? We'll run this dog to earth this time."

"Sophia, Natalia, business to deal with. I'll leave you to settle up." Tatiana called. Then as if just remembering her, she stooped to speak to Sara. "Sara, it was lovely to have you here tonight. I'll come by one evening in the week. You'll be in. We can go out for a quiet meal, just you and me. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, thank you, Tatiana."

Tatiana smiled and quickly planted a kiss on Sara's lips and then was gone. Sara turned back to look at the others, but Natalia and Sophia had stood and gave her cutesy waves and brief smiles before they turned and disappeared into the crowd. In moments the only sign that Sara had been with anybody were the indents in the seats and soon they were gone. Sara reached for her wine glass, but someone had tidied it away. She felt weary, but surprisingly more awake, more alert than she had been a few minutes before. Her neck felt stiff and her stomach rumbled with hunger. She went off in search of a coffee then a taxi before the rush of drinkers heading home kicked in.

As she weaved through the crowd, Sara thought what a good evening it had been. She really liked hanging out with Tatiana and her friends. She was looking forward to her coming by in the week, it would be great to have her visit. Pleased with her evening, which seemed to mark a clear break from her solitary nights of mulling, Sara drank her coffee quickly and headed for the taxi rank.

*

Part Three

Sara had made sure that she had been in her flat promptly each night that week, going out in her lunch breaks to buy the groceries she needed so that nothing took away in the evening when Tatiana might come. It was Wednesday and, as on the previous evenings, Sara sat slumped in her chair, in her velvet dress, letting the pictures on the television wash over her without paying attention to them. However, every sound in the corridor or even in the street sent her scurrying to see if it was Tatiana.

That night as the bell to her flat rang, Sara somehow knew this time it was Tatiana. Sara rushed to the door and threw it open. Tatiana was dressed in a dark coat with fur at her collar and cuffs and shiny boots that disappeared beneath. She smiled at Sara and she felt both at ease and excited.

"Come in, come in." Sara gabbled.

Tatiana walked into the flat casting a critical eye over it that Sara did not notice. She carried a slim parcel wrapped in green paper under her arm. Tatiana bent forward to air kiss Sara and then walked into the living room and lowered herself on to the sofa.

"Would you like some wine?" Sara asked eagerly.

"Yes, that would be nice." Tatiana replied.

Sara hurried to the kitchen and opened the bottle of Hungarian red that she was sure Tatiana would like. She carried two glasses of it back into the living room.

Tatiana had shed her coat to reveal she was dressed in a long burgundy riding skirt that stretched to her calves, a crimson silk blouse topped with a tight waistcoat. Sara admired how elegant Tatiana looked. Sara put the glass of wine on the coffee table and Tatiana nodded her thanks. Sara sat in a chair opposite Tatiana.

"No, sit here." Tatiana said.

Without thinking Sara found herself rising from her chair and going to sit next to Tatiana on the sofa. As she did, she felt pleased that she had obeyed Tatiana's suggestion. "Where are we going to eat?" Sara asked.

"I thought here would be fine." Tatiana replied.

"Oh, I don't have that much in." Sara felt guilty that she had nothing she felt was suited to Tatiana's tastes.

"Don't worry." Tatiana said softly and turned her head to look into Sara's eyes.

Sara felt as if she had been stripped naked by Tatiana's gaze, and that thought excited her. Sara's body relaxed and she moved slowly closer to Tatiana eager to have their bodies in contact. Then Tatiana's lips were locked with Sara's and Sara yielded to the sensation of Tatiana's smooth flesh pressed against her own and her delicious tongue sliding deep into her mouth. She was eager for the next phase when Tatiana's lips slid away and Sara felt Tatiana's breath on her bare neck and the nibbles that came, growing into the bite which dismissed her senses and left her floating in some pleasurable, ethereal space, devoid of time, but filled with pleasure in being able to serve Tatiana's needs.

Sara blinked as if she was coming awake. She felt very tired, but that was nothing unusual these days. She saw that her wine was untouched, but Tatiana was sipping hers, smiling at Sara. Sara felt pleased that Tatiana was content in her company.

"How are you feeling?" Tatiana asked.

"A little tired."

"That's nothing. You work too hard. You probably just need a quiet night in."

"Yes." Sara accepted Tatiana's advice.

"Before I leave you to it, I have a present." Tatiana nodded across to the chair Sara had sat in earlier.

Sara looked to see a shiny foil dress, a bright turquoise colour, laid out on the chair. She had seen many of the female clubbers wearing such simple, tight dresses but had never thought of wearing one herself. Now it seemed so right and she was pleased Tatiana had bought it for her.

"Go on, try it on. It'll look great on you. That's the sort of dress a woman like you should wear, get away from this heavy, outdated stuff, that's not your kind of thing. Women like you wear modern things like that dress, doesn't it look good?"

Sara jumped up, eager to slide herself into the dress. She quickly shed her velvet dress, it had no appeal to her now. Somehow she knew the foil dress would not accommodate underwear, and unashamedly she cast off the black lacy set she had on. Quickly Sara slid the dress over her head, shaking her body so it eased down into place, rest on her naked shoulders by its spaghetti straps, clinging to her body so tightly, skimming over her breasts, hugging her hips, cupping her bum. She could see herself now, her hair blonded, wearing glossy lipstick and eyeshadow enjoying herself in this dress.

"It is lovely. Thank you." Sara bent over to kiss Tatiana's lips, and was thrilled as Tatiana's tongue snaked out to wrap with her own.

"There's a party at the dacha a week on Saturday. I'd like you to come. You'll have to look just right, you know that?"

"Yes, yes." Sara said excitedly, eager to show off how good she looked in a skimpy, figure-hugging dress like this.

"I'm glad. I have to go now, it's been a lovely evening. I'll see you again on Saturday, at 'The Red Bar'. You'll be there. Come in that dress."

"I look forward to it." Sara said honestly.

"Good." Tatiana said as she stood and again air kissed Sara.

Tatiana turned and walked to the door. Sara followed behind, reluctant to see her go. Tatiana smiled from the door briefly then was gone.

Sara felt suddenly empty, hungry, tired, as if something had been holding back all those feelings until Tatiana had left. However, the thing she knew she had to deal with first was her arousal. Sara sauntered into her bedroom and stood looking at herself in the full-length mirror, loving the way her body was encased in the shiny turquoise. She swayed back and forth, watching the material ripple and catch the light, she felt impossibly sexy. The image of herself walking through a night-club dressed like this excited her so much. Her pussy was wet and she could no longer resist feeding it.

Sara hitched up her dress which did not go far down her thighs and stroked at her pussy lips, finding them already loose and welcoming to her fingers. In moments Sara was grunting with pleasure as the reflection of herself frigging merged with the daydream of accompanying Tatiana dressed so sexily. She felt the urge to be at Tatiana's heel, having any decisions made for her, that was the kind of woman who wore a dress like this, that was the kind of woman she now ached to be. With that thought, Sara came and fell backwards on to the bed in orgasm, running her wet fingers over her slippery dress, delighting in the sensuous feel, so glad Tatiana had given it to her.